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PIA News Service - Sunday, August 12, 2012

DILG-Caraga backs Special Purpose Fund
Orientation for LGUs

By Florian Faith Jr. P. Bayawa

BUTUAN CITY, Aug. 12 (PIA) -- Consistent with its
goal to provide access to safe and potable water for the poor and waterless
communities in the region, the Department of the Interior and Local Government
(DILG) Caraga presented the ‘2012 Sagana at Ligtas na Tubig para sa Lahat
Program’, known as SALINTUBIG during the Special Purpose Fund (SPF) Workshop
Orientation for Local Government Units (LGUs).

This was held recently at the Almont Hotel’s
Inland Resort, Butuan City with participating LGUs across the region.

The Special Purpose Fund (SPF) is intended for
identified poverty reduction projects proposed by LGUs, which were not approved
because of vague project objectives and were beyond the listed Menu of Programs
for Bottom-up Planning and Budgeting of regional offices for the crafting of
2013 national government budget.

DILG Local Government Operations Officer (LGOO)
V Mariles Oclarit discussed the strategies, procedures, roles and
responsibilities in the implementation and management of the SALINTUBIG Program
in the waterless municipalities and barangay. This is to inform the LGUs of the
existing DILG program which they can avail by complying the eligibility
requirements as being set for its guidelines.

Together with other participating regional line
agencies in the Bottom-up Planning and Budgeting, such as the Department of
Agriculture (DA), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Energy
(DOE)/National Electrification Administration (NEA), Department of Environment
and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Social Welfare and Development
(DSWD), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Education (DepEd), and
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the DILG encouraged the LGUs to
avail of existing programs like the SALINTUBIG.

This is purposely done in order to cater the
poverty reduction projects proposed by LGUs falling outside the Menu of
Programs of the abovementioned participating regional offices. Through the
presentation of the DILG SALINTUBIG program and the programs of the different
regional offices, the unapproved project proposals may be funded by the
existing and on-going programs of the mentioned regional line agencies.

With this orientation, LGUs will be given with a
wide opportunity to modify their project proposals to avail of the SPF,
provided that they will be able to comply the requirements and beat the
deadline for submission to the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) in
Diliman, Quezon City which is slated on August 15, 2012. (RER/DILG-13/NCLM/PIA-Caraga)

DILG, DSWD ink partnership in PODER Anti-Poverty
Projects

By Florian Faith Jr. P. Bayawa

BUTUAN CITY, Aug. 9 (PIA) -- To reduce poverty
incidence in Caraga Region, the regional offices of the Department of the
Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Department of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD) with the Municipality of San Agustin, Surigao del Sur signed
a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to implement PODER 7, an anti-poverty project
funded by Agencia Española Cooperacion Internacional para el Desarrollo
(AECID).

The MOA was signed after the project launching
and municipal orientation in Surigao del Sur on July 23, 2012. Part of the
event was the installation of the Municipal Area Coordinating Team for the
project implementation.

Based on the agreement, DSWD will be responsible
for allocating funds for the municipality to support the project implementation
and conduct the monitoring and evaluation; and the DILG, through its municipal
local government operations officer will be responsible for providing capacity
building, training and coaching to the municipality concerned in good
governance processes and systems. The DILG is also tasked to provide policy
guidelines to the municipality as may be necessary to support the project
implementation.

DILG Director Lilibeth A. Famacion said:
“Recipients of this project should aim for project completion and those
barangays whose proposals are not prioritized should give way to other project
proposals which are more necessary to reduce the poverty incidence in the given
area."

DSWD Director Mercedita P. Jabagat said proposed
projects submitted by Punong Barangays will undergo a prioritization
system.“Those projects which are highly significant for a certain barangay
based on the dire need of the community and which will answer the identified
problem in the area will be prioritized."

On the other hand, Mayor Honolulu Go of San
Agustin signified his commitment in providing technical assistance for the end
goal, which is the project completion. Mayor Go said that the municipality will
provide support in a form of cash fund as a municipal counterpart to ensure
that the implementation will run smoothly. In the MOA, it is provided that the
LGU of San Agustin shall deposit the said counterpart to the Municipal Trust
Fund Account intended solely for the whole project implementation.

PODER, short term for Poder y Prosperidad de la
Comunidad involves a participatory and criteria-based project implementation.
PODER 7 is anchored in “Strengthening Community Involvement to Sustain Poverty
Reduction Program” (SCISPRP). This anti-poverty project is part of President
Benigno Simeon Aguino III’s advocacy towards “Bayang Maunlad”. (NCLM/DILG-13/PIA-Caraga)

DILG partners with OCD in disaster reduction
activities in Caraga

By Florian Faith Jr. P. Bayawa

BUTUAN CITY, Aug. 12 (PIA) -- With the end view
of increasing people’s resilience and enhancing their capacities from threats
and impacts of disasters brought climate change, the Department of the Interior
and Local Government (DILG) Region 13 and the Office of Civil Defense (OCD)
have conducted activities to mark National Disaster Consciousness Celebration
last July.

These activities included a coastal clean-up at
Barangay Masao, Butuan City with the participation of the Regional Disaster
Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC). Director Lilibeth A. Famacion,
together with selected regional line agencies, headed the DILG staff in
clearing out the coastal shoreline of Masao.

Director Famacion, during the program proper at
Brgy. Masao covered court said that the community should always be on the lead
to be vigilant of what is happening in their surroundings such as the maritime
ruin of the coastal areas resulting from improper waste disposal. “This is one
of the many ways in order to mitigate the harmful effects of environmental
degradation,” she added. Director Famacion encouraged the local DRRMC and
Barangay Officials to enhance their DRRM Plan and to fully operationalize their
DRRM offices.

OCD Chief Blanche T. Gobenciong encouraged the
community to be conscious with climate changes and the threats of disaster. She
said that it is important to have knowledge with the how to’s and the correct
responses to disasters in order to prepare the community for unforeseen
calamities.

Part of the said activity was the distribution
of hygiene kits to recipient families and school children. This was handed over
by OCD Chief Blanche Gobenciong and assisted by DILG Director Famacion. With
the initiative of OCD, a dental and medical mission with free consultation and
tooth extraction from the provincial and city government of Butuan were also
undertaken to the residence of Brgy. Masau and neighboring barangays. In
connection, free medicines were distributed and vitamins were also given to
infants.

A bloodletting activity was also conducted with
supervision from the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC). Simultaneous to this
was the community viewing of multi-media presentations from OCD and DILG to
inform and likewise educate the local community in readiness to face disasters
and how to prevent it.

Other agencies involved in the activities were
the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Science
and Technology (DOST) and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
(NCLM/DILG-13/PIA-Caraga)